I still hate edging but... Pictures added of the whole process below

[WV Sawmiller]

   Okay. I admit it. I still hate stopping to edge my boards on the mill and since I mostly try to do mobile sawing I can never justify buying even the small single blade edger like WM makes (even though I do love to see them at work).

   A couple of tricks I have picked up (that most of you may have already known for years) is:

1. I edge nearly everything against a cant. I cut the cant to the next mark below the thinnest/narrowest board I plan to edge (Okay many of us do this so not real new) then stop and edge the resume cutting boards from the cant when all the flitches are edged.

2. When edging a single flitch and it is too thin for the clamps to hold laying an already cut 4/4 or 8/4 board flat/horizontal on the mill and clamping it tight against the single flitch to be edged. I used to use 2 to 3 strips or a scrap board on edge vertically for the flitch to tighten the gap till Marty Parsons showed me this trick at our last local workshop. It works much better this way as it spreads the tension against the flitch further than just at the clamping point (Thanks Marty - everybody should go to all the shows they can to pick up small tricks like this which help us be better sawyers).

3. When sawing outside flitches with a lot of taper I put the flitch to be edged against the cant with the narrow end at the back of the mill then raise the toeboard so the portion to be edged is pretty well level the whole length. After the cut I flip the flitch and lower the toeboard and cut the widest board possible. This makes it easier for me to see that I may be able to choose between cutting an 8' 1X8 or a 10' 1X6.

4. Staging several flitches on sawhorses - if only 1-2 flitches off a small board I sometimes accumulate several to edge at one time (although in all honesty I usually edge them against the cant they came off of).

5. I now edge to standard 2" widths in nearly all cases. I used to cut truly random widths and gang edge flitches lowering 1" at a time while cutting boards off the cant till I got a smooth edge then flip that board till both edges were edged. (This also generated my stacking strips or tomato stakes). It is much easier for me to stack and store and compute the final product when cut to standard widths.

    Several of the steps above help maximize the yield but are not conducive to production sawing. Edging single flitches works okay for high value lumber you are selling and for the hobby sawyer for his own use but it is not going to yield a lot of bf very fast when sawing by the hour or custom sawing by the bf for a living.

[woodmills1]

slabs/edgings with 1 inch drops are just way to tedious.  Good tips you post.

[killamplanes]

We all do it different. Of course im not cutting customers logs there mine. But all my flitches I put back on mill for edging having bark I cut for pallet 3.5 in start at top all the way down. And I wait until I have a full deck 25-30in worth of edging to do. Any boards with bark on1 side clean side down so that one will be clean etc. I may have slightly more waste to my methods but seperating board by width and edging them in several runs doe'snt pay for my time In alot of lower end wood. But I always make sure blade is in great shape when edging 25inches worth of boards because a wave screws up alot of lumber. I do change the way I sort for edging if im looking for wider boards, But I usually keep the wider lumber for further in the log so I don't have to mess with bark edges.

[Chop Shop]

I hate it just from listening to every one here talk about what fun it is!

This is why I got a MD and Lucas!   My bandsaw just feeds the dust mites now!  :D

[Kbeitz]

I save all my edging for the end of the week.
Then I mount this contraption on my saw and
saw away....



 



 

[WDH]

HATE for edging on the mill is an understatement, especially with a manual mill.  It is a back-breaker.  If you saw a lot of wood, an edger will set you free  . 

[Bruno of NH]

I need to get set free :)
I'm hoping for the spring

[WV Sawmiller]

kbeitz,

   That is the most sophisticated edging clamping system I have seen and I am sure it does a great job. I am impressed with it  but as I mentioned before it obviously is not for a high production use nor is any single board system ever going to be.

    Waiting a week to edge would cause me big problems with space limitations and would be out of the question on mobile sawing jobs where the goal is to get in and out quickly.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Kbeitz,

I would love to see how you mount your contraption to the mill.
As a weekend warrior I can't justify an edger.

Jon

[Larry]

A couple of things I do to lessen the misery.

With big logs I'll saw a couple  of flitches and let them stay on the log.  Before turning to the next face I rotate the log so those flitches will slide off onto the loading arms.  I use the clamp to rotate the log towards the loader side.

When I'm ready to edge I lift the loader arms so the flitches slide back onto the bed of the mill.  Than I stand em up with the clamp and log turner.  I did modify my loader arms for additional lift...not TK approved.

When sawing something like 6 or 8/4 trailer decking the above is my sop.  I'm to old and lazy (mostly lazy) to be flipping heavy flitches.

[OneWithWood]

Don't forget the "I like live edges" crowd.  Not everything needs to be edged.

[WV Sawmiller]

Larry,

   I also sometimes leave several of the flitches on the log/cant and push them on the arms at the same time. I have seen Marty do the flip technique on a super hydraulic mill to throw the flitches on the arms but my hydraulics are too slow to lift them fast enough IMO so I do them by hand. You may have the chain turner on your TK mill which I don't have. I also lift the arms to slide the flitches back for edging to reduce my lifting.

   I often leave several finished boards on the cant until I cut down to about 3-1/4" (normal height I stop sawing and start edging 4/4 stock and edging down to 1X4 board widths or 5/12" cant if not edging narrower than 1X6's), remove the boards to a waiting trailer, edge, stack the edged boards then cut the last 3-5 finished boards as the case may be to finish up the cant. When I finish this final stack I raise the end toeboard to roll them as close to the trailer as I can to further reduce excess and unnecessary lifting. (Never lift both ends of a board at one time if you can help it - CustomSawyer advice, right?)

   I am also now a firm believer in using my cheat sheet to eliminate the need of a trim cut at the end of the job.

[Sixacresand]

Generally, I push flitches onto the mill loading arms until I finish most of the cant. I edge every thing before I start a new log.  If I realize I cut a slab too thick, I'll slide it off on the loading arms to re-mill and edge, even for a short board.  Edging is tedious work, but with a good offbearer who knows what to do, it is not that bad.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Edging goes easier for me if I cut around all 4 sides of the log before making a lot of flitches. The flitches are easier to edge then when they don't have a lot of taper.

[WV Sawmiller]

If I realize I cut a slab too thick, I'll slide it off on the loading arms to re-mill and edge, even for a short board.  Edging is tedious work, but with a good offbearer who knows what to do, it is not that bad.

6Acres,

   I misjudged my first cut on a 12' ash yesterday I was cutting for 2X6's so set it aside to resaw as you describe in trying to open a 6"+ face. In this case I recovered an 8' 1X8 and an 8' 1X6. In all honesty, usually when I try to resaw like this I regret it as the thick slabs are hard to clamp, tend to want to rise up on one end or the other and as often as not yield scrap flitches that go on the boneyard but you have to try.

   At home there is no off bearer so that is very seldom a factor. On custom jobs it is a the customer and he is generally inexperienced.

[WDH]

HATE

[Carson-saws]

OneWithWood....very good point Sir.... for me early on, I had a "D70"   what is a D70?....well..it was my   D-ad at age 70...with a set of sawhorses...snap line and circle saw.

[WV Sawmiller]

HATE

   Okay, I give up. Are you indicating my terminology is too harsh?

   I admit edging is not my least favorite thing in life but it is a necessary inconvenience for a sawyer.

[5quarter]

HATE

X2

[customsawyer]

The easiest way to sell a edger is to let someone babysit one of your edgers for awhile and then let them know you have to get it back.  ;D

[WDH]

I have heard that that (Tom) works too.

WV, no, not harsh enough  :D.

[slider]

Sorry WDH but the deal between you and Customsawyer was a bait and switch and you fell for it hook line and sinker.It was well planned before hand and you did not see it coming.

[Sixacresand]

My worst hot day edging on the mill is better than going to the mall shopping.

[DMcCoy]

The easiest way to sell a edger is to let someone babysit one of your edgers for awhile and then let them know you have to get it back.  ;D

Yup,,,, Convincing someone that some piece of equipment you rarely use is perfect for a job they need to do....and it is..... so you rarely see it again.   

[WV Sawmiller]

I have heard that that (Tom) works too.

WV, no, not harsh enough  :D.

WDH,

   Thanks for clearing that up. I thought I'd broken a rule and was headed for the woodshed.